Misión de San José del Cabo Anuiti in San Jose del Cabo

Whenever we travel with our children, it is important to us that we expose them to the history and culture of the place where they are visting. While on our trip to Los Cabos, Mexico, we rented a car to bring them to see the historic Misión de San José del Cabo Anuiti in San Jose del Cabo.

As we drove along the cobblestone streets of San Jose del Cabo, we were mezmorized by the beautiful church in the center of the town. The town has become a popular cultural area with many fine art galleries throughout the historic town. The old-world village has a special charm with its adobe buildings.

What we learned while visiting the mission (facts and information provided courtesy of the mission):

The mission was founded by father Nicolas Tamaral in the month of April, 1730. It’s establishment was vital for the navigation, because the Cabos region was a haven for ships which made long commercial trips between New Spain and Spanish colonies in Asia. Thereby, the crew of the “Galleon de Manila,” also known as “La Nao de China,” was able to supply the ship with fresh water and some fruit that helped ease the turmoil of the long transoceanic voyage.

In spite of having good land and water for agricultural purposes, the mission was unable to flourish, and was one of the first to disappear. Confrontation with the region’s Indian groups affected significantly the development of this religious settlement. One of the events that marked the history of this mission was the Indian rebellion in 1734, in which father Nicolas Tamaral was brutally killed.

Although the region was later pacified, the next decades saw this mission fall into a process of complete decline. Other men and women populated the land again and helped, from here, form the Mexican Nation.

The mission was destroyed by a hurricane in 1918, and was rebuilt in 1932.

The mission, customarily, were built using natural materials. During the years in which the missionaries occupied this site they actually never built a stone construction. The present one dates from the first years of the xx century. Records show that the original temple had few paintings and a very old and deteriorated clothing used for religious serves. Of the few things that are left is a gilded chalice with various stamps, one from the “Casa de Moneda” (mint) from Mexico, another from the silversmith Herrera who practiced his craft between 1882 and 1889.

When visiting any part of Los Cabos, Mexico, I highly recommend renting a car to visit the Misión de San José del Cabo Anuiti with your family. It will be an unforgettable experience while visiting the region.